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Joshua 19: The Importance of Borders in Scripture
April 24, 2026 · 11 min
Discover why borders in scripture provide insights into maintaining identity and fulfilling God's plan.
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Completing the Land Division in Joshua 19 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Alright. The sun is up, and, obviously, so are you. Thanks for joining us this morning as we continue our chronological journey through the Bible. We're coming close to the end0:19 of the book of Joshua, and then we're gonna begin the book of Judges. So today, we have chapter 19 of Joshua. It concludes the allotment of the land of Canaan. We're going to, to look at the land that0:31 was allocated to Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. Verse 49 of chapter 19. When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders,0:43 the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua, the son of Nun. So this comes after Joshua had selected the 21 men, 3 from the 7 tribes to that had not0:55 yet received their allocation, sent them out to survey the land. They divided it up, and then they drew lots and allocated the land. And as I pointed out last time, I think this was a very1:07 effective way to skillfully carry out the task of equitably dividing up the land. And I think it went a long way in silencing the complainers that we read about over in chapter 17 with the children1:19 of Joseph. Now this chapter includes the various list of the cities and the villages that were included in the inheritance to the different tribes. Obviously, it's a historical record of those cities,1:31 but there's, there's other aspects of this. Right? I've I've said this before. When we get to those list of names of places and people, we're tempted just to leapfrog over it and go on to the next substantive,1:44 passage, but it's all there for a reason. You know, scripture is given. All of this is preserved for us. And what we often find in these lists are some very insightful tidbits. And1:56 so there's a few of those in here today, and that's what I I hope to point out in our in our short time together. This will be a short session this morning. So here's a couple of observations. First, a general2:07 observation from all of the focus that's placed on the boundaries of these internal tribes or or states, if you will. All these details give, you know, gives veracity, number 1, to the word of God,2:19 that it's genuine, it's true, it's not some kind of made up story. And then second is that borders matter. You know, without borders, you don't have a you don't have a country. You don't have a state. Borders and2:30 boundaries are are associated with identity. Each of these tribes had boundaries. They had borders because they had an identity, and then collectively, they had an identity. We see the2:42 same in the United States today. There are those that wanna do away with borders, but, you know, suggesting this more globalist approach to to the world that would attempt to supplant our identity. But don't2:54 be led to believe that that is a biblical concept. Right? That that somehow this amalgamation of of countries is the compassionate or the Christian thing to do. The gospel3:07 is for all countries. Alright? The kingdom of god is is does not have borders, but countries today in this world do have boundaries. This is a this3:19 is actually a biblical concept that brings about decentralization of mankind by people groups or countries that keeps evil in check.3:31 So this is a good thing. And for those that wanna do away with borders and boundaries, bottom line, it's not a biblical concept. Now I know again, I know there's a lot of names in this chapter, but IProphecies Fulfilled: Simeon and Dan 3:43 encourage you to read the entire chapter. And let's look at a few more of these aspects of the allocation that I think are, significant. Verse 9. The inheritance of the children of Simeon, which was3:54 included in the share of the tribe the children of Judah, For the share of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore, the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the in inheritance of the people. Now4:05 I point this out because whether or not this allocation was made because it was realized that Judah had too much land to manage or some other reason. Well, maybe we take the scripture at face value. But nonetheless,4:17 it is actually the fulfillment of a prophecy of Jacob back in Genesis chapter 49. Let me read that verse 5 of chapter 49. Simeon and Levi are brothers,4:28 instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Alright? Those were the, the ones that made the attack on Shechem. And and it it it4:40 was not the right thing to do. And so this is at the end when Jacob is speaking over them. Let not my soul enter their counsel. Let not my honor be united to their4:52 assembly. For in their anger, they slew a man, and in their self will, they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will divide them in5:04 Jacob and scatter them in Israel. So Simeon was absorbed into the tribe of Judah over time. What we see here is that the word of God spoken through Jacob5:16 is being carried out. This is a reminder that God's word, in this case given through Jacob, does not return void. It will be accomplished. Verse 40, the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the5:28 children of Dan according to their families. And drop down to verse 47. And the border of the children of Dan went beyond these because the children of Dan went up to fight with with,5:40 less less Leshem and took it, and they struck it with the edge of the sword, took possession of it, and dwelled in it. They called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan5:52 their father. This is an inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages. Now we need to keep an eye, and we're going to keep an eye on the tribe6:04 of Dan. When we get into judges, we're gonna see more of the narrative of this is excursion to the north. So they were their their land was further south, and they6:16 went up into this area of Leshem, which was in the region allocated to the tribe of Naphtali. Now this north area renamed Dan will be at the center6:27 of Israel's national apostasy after the division of the kingdom. We'll read about this later. Now this is a reminder that, you know, it's best if we operate within the boundaries that6:39 the Lord has established for us. Then finally, 1 more aspect of, of this passage. Leaders put the needs in the interest of others first. VerseJoshua's Servant Leadership and Lifelong Mission 6:51 49. When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua, the son of Nun. According to the word of the Lord, they7:02 gave him the city which he asked for, Timnah, Sera, in the mountains of Ephraim, and he built a city and dwelled in it. These were the inheritances which Eleazar7:14 the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So they made an7:26 end of dividing the country. Very last thing, Joshua led the people in the promised land, led them into led them in defeating the occupants and then dividing the land.7:38 Then he gave every tribe their given allotment, and they were ready to settle down. Then Joshua, by acclamation of the people, was given what the Lord had promised7:50 according to the word of the Lord. And he, as we will see, Joshua was in was coming near the end of his life. We already read to previously that God told him it was old, that time was short. So he's8:02 coming to the end of his earthly life, but his mountain home that he gets, you know, was not a retirement community. Alright? He this is, he didn't fill his final days with pickleball and8:14 shuffleboard. He he he spent his time focused on the purpose that god had given him. Now I'm I'm all for, you know, little8:25 game of pickleball, bike ride, going for a run, and I believe god has given us these things to enjoy. And I think, you you know, when we you have an opportunity to retire, that's great. But it doesn't8:37 mean God is finished with using you to advance his kingdom. I believe that we are to be on mission to advance the kingdom of God until he returns or calls us home.8:49 We all, no matter where we are, what our capacity is, God has given us something to do. Might be praying, might be giving, might be sharing, any number of things.9:02 We can advance and are called to advance the kingdom of God until the Lord returns or until he calls us home. Father, we thank you for your word this morning and, Lord,9:13 just continue to pray that the Holy Spirit would would help us to see these truths that sometimes are, you know, really buried, in these passages. But Lord, this is what it means to abide in9:25 your word and to meditate upon it. And I pray that you would speak to us. And as Joshua was faithful to the end, he was faithful to be on mission even when he had accomplished in the9:37 short term what you had called him to do, to go into occupy the land, to divide it, and to begin the process of settling in the land. But yet as we will read, all the way to the9:49 very end, he is challenging the people to follow you. He stayed on mission. And I pray father that we would stay on mission, advancing your kingdom as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28 that we are10:01 to make disciples. We're to go into all the earth. May we stay on mission advancing your kingdom. We pray and ask all this in Jesus name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this10:13 morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.10:19 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan, available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you10:31 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Completing the Land Division in Joshua 193:37 Prophecies Fulfilled: Simeon and Dan6:42 Joshua's Servant Leadership and Lifelong Mission93.9K followers
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